Waste paper receptacle with automatic tamping means



J. M. KATZ Nov. 15, 1966 WASTE PAPER RECEPTACLE WITH AUTOMATIC TAMPING MEANS Filed Aug. 5, 1965 RU mm N EM b m o c Q 5 J G n H -w/fi United States Patent 3,285,505 WASTE PAPER RECEPTACLE WITH AUTOMATIC TAMPING MEANS Jacob M. Katz, 225 E. 57th St., New York, N.Y. Filed Aug. 5, 1965, Ser. No. 477,550 3 Claims. (Cl. 232-43.3)

The present invention relates to waste receptacles for paper towels, facial tissues, sanitary napkins and the like, and more particularly to the type for installation in the washrooms of industrial, office, hospital, institutional and other public buildings.

A crumpled paper sheet occupies a considerable volume as compared to the space it takes up when flat. Hence, it does not take long in a public washroom for a waste paper receptacle to become filled and porters are kept busy a few times a day to empty same, or else the public just throws the refuse onto the filled basket, and it falls to the floor. This occurs whether the receptacle is exposed, or within a cabinet offering an opening thereto.

It is important to note, that if the receptacles contents were compressed at least to approach flatness, the receptacle would hold a considerable amount of waste material. This would reduce maintainance costs, once-a-day emptying in most instances would be sufficient, and there would be no increases in receptacle size.

It is therefore the principal object of this invention to provide a novel and improved cabinet-housed waste paper receptacle reached by opening a normally closed door in the front wall of the cabinet, and such structure shall offer a tamping plate which is automatically operated by said doors movement.

A further object thereof is to provide that when said door is opened to throw waste paper into the receptacle, the tamping plate shall automatically rise to a position to clear the receptacles mouth, and when said door is closed, said plate shall automatically return into the receptacle and travel downwardly therein a predetermined distance, as a piston therein.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved waste paper receiver structure of the character described, which is simple in construction, reasonable in cost to manufacture, easy to use, and efficient in carrying out the purposes for which it is designed.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as this disclosure proceeds.

For one practice of this invention, a waste paper receptacle is within a cabinet which may fit into a recess in a wall. This cabinet has a front door to be opened when it is necessary to remove the filled receptacle to have its contents dumped. Said receptacle is below the top of said cabinet door, and there is a relatively small door across an opening in the cabinet door, above the plane of the mouth of said receptacle; said small door being swingable forwardly downwardly to open, whereupon waste paper or the like can be thrown into the receptacle. An arm rigidly fixed and extending from the rear surface of said small door, has pivotally mounted at its distal end, a tamping plate which is down a Way into the receptacle when said small door is closed; such pivotal connection being centrally of said tamping plate, so such plate is horizontal at this time. When said small door is opened, the tamping plate will move upwardly out of the receptacle, whereupon it will be cammed to swing to a position towards vertical where it does not obstruct the path from the door opening into the receptacle.

A detailed description and the mode of operation of a preferred embodiment of this invention, will now be given, for which reference will be had to the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing which is part of this specification,

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similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

FIG. 1 is the front view of a waste paper receiving structure embodying the teachings of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a section taken at line 2-2 in FIG. 1, showing the normal rest condition, where the small door at the front, through which refuse is thrown into the housed receptacle, is closed, and the tamping plate is within said receptacle.

FIG. 3 is a similar section, showing said small door open, and the tamping plate in a position out of the receptacle, to make the mouth of the latter accessible from said door opening.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the tamping plate and the structure extending from said door, on which said plate is swingably mounted.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a modified cabinet construction, drawn to a reduced scale.

In the drawing, the numeral 15 designates generally a cabinet recessed in a wall 16 of a building. The front of the cabinet structure constitutes a frame 17 for the main door 18 which is swingable on the vertical hinges 19, to give access for the interior waste paper receptacle which is the basket 20. In the main door 18, above the basket 20, there is a central opening 21 into which to drop the waste material. This opening is covered by a relatively small door 22 tom edge by the horizontal hinges 23, to be opened outwardly downwardly. When door 22 is closed as in FIG. 2, a tamping plate 24 is a little distance down in the basket 20, where it is swingably mounted about its cen- -ter of gravity onto the ends of the arms 25 which are fixed to the rear surface of said door 22, from which they extend into the cabinet and basket. The axis of swing 26 of said tamping plate is horizontal, and parallel to the axis of swing of said door 22. Along the rear edge of the upper surface of the tamping plate 24, is a bar 27, adapted to be intercepted by a camming bar 28 which spans and is fixed to the side walls of the cabinet 15, just above the basket 20; such interception occurring as is shown in FIG. 3, when the door 22 is swung open. In the embodiment illustrated as shown in FIG. 2, said tamping plate needs the forwardly extending slots 29 therethrough, to give clearance for the arms 25, to permit the necessary swing of the tamping plate. It is possible to have the bar 28 across the basket 20, but then, the said basket would have to be heavy enough not to be lifted by the relatively heavy tamping plate 24 in its movement from the position in FIG. 2 to that it assumes in FIG. 3.

In such moved position, the tamping plate is opposite the opening 21, with its underside facing such opening.

A stop 14, holds the door 22 from entering the cabinet.

The normal rest condition is shown in FIG. 2, where the door 22 is closed and the tamping plate 24 is a dis tance down in the waste basket 20. To throw a piece of waste into the basket, the door 22 is manually opened and so held, whereupon the condition then is as shown in FIG. 3, for in opening the door 22, the tamping plate 24 is raised, and upon reaching out of the basket, the bar 27 will hook onto the bar 28, and be cammed thereby to swing and assume the position it is in as shown in FIG. 3. The waste piece 30 thrown in, will fall atop the waste 31 already collected in the basket. Then the door 22 is let go, whereupon it will automatically return to closed position, because the tamping plate 24 will fall and swing back to horizontal, and come down its predetermined penetration into the basket.

It is evident that when the waste piles up in the basket to a height above the lowest position of the under side of the tamping plate, that it will be pressed down which is hinged along its botdownwardly,

3 and flattened, and so the basket is made to accommodate a relatively large mass of waste material.

When the porter comes around to empty the accumulated trash, he opens the door 22 to lift the tamping plate 24 out of the basket, after unlocking the main door 18. Holding door 22 open, he then opens the door 18 and removes the basketto dispose of its contents. By closing the door 22 slightly, he can push the upper part of the :plate 24, swing it a bit, so as to permit the basket 20 clear passage. After emptying the basket, he replaces it while holding the door 22 open.

The door for removal of the basket, may be a separate one as 18', shown in FIG. 5, where the small door 22 and said door 18' are for openings in the front wall 17 of the cabinet structure. a

This invention is capable of numerous forms and various applications without departing from the essential features herein disclosed. It is therefore intended and desired that the embodiment shown herein shall be deemed merely illustrative and not restrictive and that the patent shall cover all patentable novelty herein set forth; reference being had to the following claims rather than to the specific description and showing herein, to indicate the scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. In an article of the character described, the combination of a waste paper basket within an outer cabinet; said cabinet having an opening in its front wall at a position above said basket, a door across said opening, hinged along its lower edge so that the door opens forwardly means to maintain said door from entering said cabinet, a tamping plate positioned horizontally within said basket at a predetermined distance'from the mouth of said basket, an arm fixed tosaid door and extending from its rear to said tamping plate; said plate being swingably mounted (about an axis substantially through its center of gravity, to said arm, an element extending upwardly from said plate along the edge thereof which is at the rear of said cabinet; the axes of swing of said tamping plate and door being substantially parallel, and a camming element fixed near the mouth of said basket, adapted to intercept said element extending from the .plate, when said door is being opened, whereupon opening said door, said plate will rise and leave said basket and be swung within the cabinet to a position opposite said opening, at which time the underside of said plate faces said opening; there being clearance for said arm to [allow such plate movement.

2. The article as defined in claim 1, wherein said camming element is a bar spanning and fixed to the side Walls of the cabinet, and positioned immediately above the basket.

3. The article as defined in claim 1, wherein said arm is intermediate the side edges of said tamping plate and the mentioned clearance is provided by a slot through said plate, opening in the forward edge of said plate.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS J. T. MCCALL, Primary Examiner. FRANCIS K. ZUG'EL, Examiner. 

1. IN AN ARTICLE OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED, THE COMBINATION OF A WASTE PAPER BASKET WITHIN AN OUTER CABINET; SAID CABINET HAVING AN OPENING IN ITS FRONT WALL AT A POSITION ABOVE SAID BASKET, A DOOR ACROSS SAID OPENING, HINGED ALONG ITS LOWER EDGE SO THAT THE DOOR OPENS FORWARDLY DOWNWARDLY, MEANS TO MAINTAIN SAID DOOR FROM ENTERING SAID CABINET, A TAMPING PLATE POSITIONED HORIZONTALLY WITHIN SAID BASKET AT A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE FROM THE MOUTH OF SAID BASKET, AN ARM FIXED TO SAID DOOR AND EXTENDING FROM ITS REAR TO SAID TAMPING PLATE; SAID PLATE BEING SWINGABLY MOUNTED ABOUT AN AXIS SUBSTANTIALLY THROUGH ITS CENTER OF GRAVITY, TO SAID ARM, AN ELEMENT EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM SAID PLATE ALONG THE EDGE THEREOF WHICH IS AT THE REAR OF SAID CABINET; THE AXES OF SWING OF SAID TAMPING PLATE AND DOOR BEING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL, AND A CAMMING ELEMENT FIXED NEAR THE MOUTH OF SAID BASKET, ADAPTED TO INTERCEPT SAID ELEMENT EXTENDING FROM THE PLATE, WHEN SAID DOOR IS BEING OPENED, WHEREUPON OPENING SAID DOOR, SAID PLATE WILL RISE AND LEAVE SAID BASKET AND BE SWUNG WITHIN THE CABINET TO A POSITION OPPOSITE SAID OPENING, AT WHICH TIME THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID PLATE FACES SAID OPENING; THERE BEING CLEARANCE FOR SAID ARM TO ALLOW SUCH PLATE MOVEMENT. 